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Walmart rolls back 30% more BTS items on mobile app

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is kicking off Back to Class Cyber Days online, featuring 30 percent more "Rollbacks" on back-to-school items on its mobile app. According to a company statement, Walmart's website traffic has doubled in the past two years on July 31 through August 3 as consumers turn their attention to BTS shopping.

"When the calendar changes from July to August, it's like a switch flips in parents' minds," said Steve Breen, senior VP of merchandising for Walmart.com. "We can literally start to see it happen with a traffic spike on July 31, and this year we're timing thousands of the season's biggest Rollbacks to when we know our customers are coming to our site to check off their back-to-school shopping lists."

On top of the discounts, Walmart is changing some of its online prices to "an all-time low" on the top 10 items searched in the weeks leading up to school. The big-box retailer is making a promise that if supplies run out on any of these top 10 items, a new Rollback on a similar item will be added. Rollbacks last for 90 days, giving students and parents ample time to stock up on BTS items.

Items on the top 10 most-searched list include everything from iPads and school uniforms to sofa beds and Sharpie markers.

According to the National Retail Federation's BTS spending forecast, 48.4 percent of shoppers said they would consider buying online and picking up in-store. Therefore, to help college students with BTS shopping, Walmart is offering an extended pickup window—from seven to 21 days—for all orders placed over the next week and being shipped to Walmart's 80 select college stores.

This includes stores serving Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Arizona State University, University of Iowa, University of Georgia and Duke University, among others. Students can also opt to have items shipped directly to their dorm or house, with free shipping for orders over $35.

Walmart has been beefing up its mobile presence this year, adding new app features including gift registries and the option to buy online and pick up in-store.

*An earlier version of this story originally appeared in FierceMobileRetail's sister publication, FierceRetail.